


On Agni's Honor

by I3utterflyEffect



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ((he immediately regrets this decision)), (on one hand he is VERY screwed up), (on the other it's hard to get along with someone trying to kill you), (ozai isn't in here yet but sokka finds out about what happened to zuko and basically kidnaps him), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Trauma, Enemies to Friends, Found Family, Gen, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Platonic Tension, Sokka isn't sure how to feel about Zuko after hearing what happened, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:54:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25460458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I3utterflyEffect/pseuds/I3utterflyEffect
Summary: Zuko wasn't sure what to expect when he was thrown into a prison cell with the nonbender who'd been traveling with The Avatar.What he didn't expect was to end up revealing how he was banished, have this Water Tribe peasant blatantly disrespect his father, then getting practically kidnapped by them.He really doesn't want to be here.He also doesn't want to admit that, occasionally, Sokka has a point.(Alternate title: Sokka Abandons Common Sense so Zuko Can Be Okay)(on indefinite hiatus)
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Sokka & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 97
Kudos: 861
Collections: A:tla, Fics that I want to read once they are complete





	1. Between Two Prisoners

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is set during part 2 of the Winter Solstice episode!

Zuko was treated with no mercy— although, what more should a _traitor_ expect— and when he tried to shift his arms from being pulled too far back, the guards wrenched them back further. He bit his tongue, suppressing a pained whimper, before turning his gaze off the guards and down the hall.

He didn’t fight. He wouldn’t have to. His father would release him. Of course he would.

_“If your father wanted you home, he would have let you return by now. Avatar, or no avatar.”_

He bit his tongue, but Zhao's words lingered in his head as the worst-case scenarios pushed into his head.

_He won’t be happy, will he? He’ll punish me, won’t he? He’ll punish me again, for being a failure, a coward—_

The worst part was, that was only what he would normally deserve.

Zhao could easily lie— tell his father he’d sided with the avatar— he wouldn’t put it past him. He was a honorless man, like his uncle had said—

_At least he never was a traitor._

Zuko was jolted out of his thoughts as he was thrown into a jail cell, crying out as he hit the cold floor. The door creaked— and then, the room darkened as it closed.

“Oh, great, I don’t even deserve _my own prison cell!_ How come _I_ get stuck with ponytail?” A familiar voice piped up.

Zuko pushed himself up from the floor, glaring up at the water tribe boy. “You’re one to talk.”

_“It’s a warrior’s wolf-tail!”_

He scoffed, sitting down.

In any other circumstance, he would be happy to pick a fight with them— But right now… well, there was no point. Soon, he’d be released. Back home.

 _Or dead,_ his mind unhelpfully supplied.

~~Knowing his luck, it would be the second one.~~

His gaze fell from the non-bender back down to the floor as he curled his knees against his chest, folding his arms atop his knees.

_I want Uncle._

The thought made his heart lurch a little. He realized— however disgraceful it was— that he was _terrified._ He suddenly really, _really_ wanted one of his Uncle’s hugs— and he wanted to go home, and _Agni,_ he wanted to cry—

And the water tribe boy was staring at him.

He straightened his posture, quickly getting over himself as he hid his moment of weakness. “What are you staring at?” He growled.

“Nothing,” They replied.

“Then stop staring.” Zuko stood up, turning to the door, and listening to the outside.

There was another few seconds of silence.

“Do you think if you stare at the door long enough, it’ll just… fall off the hinges?”

“I’m _hoping_ my father will send someone to free me.”

“Of _course_ he’s going to free you! He’s the Fire Lord!” They exclaimed. “You’ve got prince privilege.”

Zuko couldn’t suppress a scoff. “I’ve been banished. I’ve got no place here.”

“Banished?” Suddenly, they sounded intrigued. “Why? You’re a _prince!_ ”

Zuko felt a small flicker of panic— _no, no, this conversation has to end_ _immediately_ _—_ and spun around to face them. “It’s _none of your business!_ All you need to know is that I didn’t capture the Avatar, and I’ll be punished accordingly.”

“Woah, woah, hang on—“ The boy stood up, walking to Zuko. “Listen— I don’t know what you did to get banished, but… are they going to kill you or something?” He asked, voice cracking.

“Maybe. Why do you care?”

They froze with their mouth open, horror flashing through their eyes. “Why do you even _want_ to go home?! It doesn’t even sound like your dad loves you—!”

 _“You don’t know that!_ ” Zuko screamed. “It’s not your place to talk about my family! He never did anything that _I didn’t deserve—!”_

“What did you even _do_ to get _banished?!”_

Zuko cringed a little, not wanting to think about it as he turned away again. “Why should I tell you?”

The boy went quiet, searching for a reason.

A minute passed. Then another.

As Zuko cooled off, the weight of the silence started to press on him, and it only made him more stressed out— until finally, he cracked.

“I was in my father’s war room. My uncle let me in if I promised to stay silent.” He lowered his head slightly. “I spoke up against a general’s plan— an act of disrespect. It was going to be settled in an Agni Kai.”

“Agni Kai?”

Zuko shot a glare at them for interrupting, before his gaze turned downwards. “It’s a firebending duel.”

“So you fought the general?”

“No. I’d disrespected my father, therefore… It was an Agni Kai against him. And I refused, like a coward.”

…He decided to skip over his punishment, instead shaking his head.

“That’s why I need to capture the Avatar. I’ve lost my honor through those events.”

When he looked back to them, they were frozen in shock, just staring at him.

“What’s with that look?” He growled.

They opened and shut their mouth like a stranded bettakoi fish, stumbling over a few words, before finally getting something out. “That is _really_ messed up.”

“Why do you care?”

“Uh, because I _have sympathy for other people?_ I’m sorry, I forgot the Fire Nation didn’t have that!”

Zuko felt a wrench in his gut as he shot back to reality, realizing he’d just _confessed all this to an enemy_. “Shut up already, you—“

The argument didn’t have time to escalate— instead, the room trembled as a rumble broke through the air.

“What was that?”

Zuko didn’t have time to make a guess— the entire building lurched, and suddenly, the walls of the prison hold crumbled.

Outside, he could see fire— a blue glow— _lava—_

He didn’t get time to process the scene for long, though, because the water tribe boy dragged him along, running to the glow.

“Let me go—!” Zuko struggled.

"You're coming with us!"

“I am _not—_ “

“SOKKA, what are you doing?!"

“I’ll explain later!"

“Sokka, Katara come on! We gotta get out of here!” Another voice— _The Avatar—_ spoke up.

“We're coming!” Sokka dragged him along, and Zuko finally decided that getting away from him was a secondary priority, compared to _escaping the active volcano_ as the building was tilting and sinking into the magma.

“Appa!” He heard the avatar exclaim, and they _were jumping out of the side of a building, they were going to die,_ _Agni help him_ _—_

Then the Avatar’s bison swooped in, and he didn’t quite process until he smacked face-first into the wooden saddle.

He yelped, shooting back upright as he held his face, glaring at Sokka.

Apparently, the water tribe girl— _Katara?—_ was glaring at him as well.

“Okay, Sokka, you have some serious explaining to do.”


	2. Temporary Truce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko isn't happy that he's stuck with the Gaang. No one's happy about it, actually. Even Sokka's regretting his choice.
> 
> Through a begrudging truce, the Gaang also ends up seeing a different side of Zuko; the side that, simply put, is just a grumpy teenager rather than a dangerous Fire Nation prince.
> 
> In other news, Sokka and Zuko can't get along for two seconds.

Katara knew her brother had an uncanny ability to get tangled in dangerous situations, but those were almost always completely unintentional.

What clearly _wasn’t_ unintentional, however, was him _dragging_ the Fire Nation prince who had been _hunting them down_ with them onto Appa’s back.

For the record, though, Zuko didn’t look too happy with this situation either.

She turned a glare towards her brother. “Okay, Sokka, you have some serious explaining to do.”

Sokka looked around at the other two, and only was able to shrug.

“He kidnapped me,” Zuko spoke up instead.

“Okay— I— It wasn’t _kidnapping—!”_

“It was absolutely kidnapping!”

“Okay, _maybe a little—_ but you gave me a good reason!”

“It was my problem to deal with—“

“Guys, guys!” Aang spoke up, walking over from the bison’s head to break them up. “Stop it! Can we all just cool down for a second—?”

“In case you missed what I said, _I don’t want to be here!_ ”

“Oh, yeah, you’d rather I’d have just _left you to die,”_ Sokka snapped.

Katara was going to get a headache.

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Can you two _please_ explain?”

She didn’t miss the withering look Zuko shot Sokka, but her brother seemed to not notice, too busy justifying himself.

“He said he—“

Zuko kicked him in the leg.

Sokka yelped, turning to Zuko. “Hey, what was that for!?”

“You are _not_ using what I told you as blackmail!”

“Blackmail is a completely different thing! _This_ is explaining why I brought you along!”

“I shouldn’t have even told you in the first place!”

“Then why did you tell me?!”

“I don’t know!”

Aang leaned towards Katara as the two boys bickered over... whatever they were bickering about. “What are they talking about?”

She could only shrug, watching them argue.

“I never volunteered to come with you!”

“Oh, sorry then— go ahead, _climb right off!_ ” Sokka said, voice dripping with sarcasm as he gestured to the expanse of sea beneath them.

Zuko looked down, and paled a little as he looked down at the thousand-mile drop into the endless sea.

“So I’m stuck up here. With you three _._ ”

“Yeah, I’m already regretting it.”

Zuko gritted his teeth. A small, fiery growl escaped his mouth, along with a plume of smoke— and Katara tensed, ready for a fight to break out.

Instead, Zuko took a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. “You’re lucky that complying is my only way out of this.”

“Alright. Until we get off, let’s make a truce. No attacking each other, no picking fights, and Zuko, no trying to steal Aang.” Katara said. “Deal?”

“Deal,” Sokka agreed.

“Zuko?” She looked to the scowling teen, who hesitated for a moment.

“On Agni’s Honor,” He growled huskily, glaring directly at her. She got the feeling that wasn’t a common Fire Nation thing and that he was just being extremely dramatic about it.

“Alright. So good. We’re not gonna kill each other.” Sokka said. “Now what?”

Silence.

Extremely _awkward_ silence.

She decided to lay down and not think about the fact that they were stuck with Zuko.

* * *

Zuko hated everything about this, and he swore to Agni he was going to _kill_ _Sokka_ as soon as they were off this stupid bison.

One of the things he hated the most was the fact that they were flying, and for some reason, it was making him feel really, _really_ nauseous.

Or maybe that was from thinking about the Agni Kai with his father. Either way, he felt like he was going to throw up any moment now.

…and it REALLY didn’t help that he had to hang over the saddle and look down at the sea beneath them, just in case.

“Are you flightsick?” The Avatar piped up.

Zuko turned a glare over to the airbender. “What does it _look_ like?” He croaked.

“If it helps, it shouldn’t be too long to the next port.” Katara offered.

“How long?”

“…an hour.”

Zuko groaned, closing his eyes as he slumped against the saddle’s side.

This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

Sokka ended up taking the reins of the bison— Appa — while the Avatar and Katara sat back in the saddle along with Zuko, who had thankfully recovered from the nausea and was no longer keeled over the side of the saddle.

“So… you don’t want Sokka to tell us what happened, right?” Katara asked.

“Mm,” Zuko affirmed.

“What if you tell us? That way you can leave out any details you don’t want to talk about.”

Zuko sat back with a sigh. “All you need to know is that we were placed in a cell together, I talked about something I shouldn’t have, and he dragged me along because of it.”

“Yeah, because you shouldn’t be going back when your dad—“

Zuko flicked an ember at Sokka’s arm, and Sokka yelped.

“Zuko!” Katara scolded, glaring at him. She uncapped the container of water on her side, putting some water on the burn to cool it.

“What was that for!?” Sokka asked, scowling at Zuko as well.

“You know exactly what for,” Zuko replied.

“I’m _sorry_ for _being concerned for you_.”

“You should be.” Zuko said, sitting up. “Sympathy for the enemy is a weakness at best, traitorous at worst.”

“It’s not though,” The Avatar piped up. “It’s just human nature. Sympathy for others can end wars, too. Haven’t you heard the story of Omashu?”

“We’re Fire Nation. We don’t tell Earth Kingdom fables.” Zuko sighed. “And no, I don’t want to hear it,” He added when the Avatar opened his mouth to explain.

Their shoulders slumped slightly, but they nodded.

The conversation came to an abrupt end.

Zuko was glad.

* * *

  
Some time passed, maybe half an hour.

Aang was laying down to stargaze, but sat up as he heard Momo purring, looking over.

Zuko was scratching the lemur behind the ears, a smile ghosting over his usual grumpy frown as he squished Momo’s furry face. He seemed like he actually really loved animals— which was a complete contrast to his tough act.

Aang thought it was cute.

Zuko finally looked up, seeing Aang, and quickly pulling his hands back to his sides, like he’d been doing something wrong. He looked at him, clearly expecting a negative reaction.

Instead, Aang smiled, leaning over. “Momo’s favorite spot is under his chin,” he said, scratching Momo in said spot. They purred, one of their hind legs scratching at the air as they rolled onto their side. “See?” Aang said as he rubbed the lemur’s belly.

Zuko awkwardly crossed his arms, looking away as Aang sat back again, seeming unsure what to say and a little embarrassed, even.

When Momo looked up at him pleadingly, though, his shoulders slumped slightly, and he went back to petting them.

“It’s kinda cute that you’re soft on Momo,” Sokka teased, looking over.

_“I’m not soft on the lemur—!”_

“You totally are.”

Zuko glowered at Sokka, looking like he was about to retreat into his armor like a turtleduck in its shell.

Before Sokka could continue teasing, though, Katara sat up, pointing as a beach came into view. “Look! Land!”

“Thank Agni…” Zuko sat up.

“You can say that again,” Sokka said, agreeing with Zuko for once. “Yip yip!”


	3. Respite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back on Zuko's ship, the crew of the Wani begin to fear the worst for the prince.
> 
> Zuko and the Gaang, meanwhile, negotiate on their situation.

The _Wani_ felt like a ghost ship as the crew silently awaited Zuko’s return. No one seemed to speak— no one even seemed to dare breathe, and the only sounds echoing through the ship were footsteps against the metal.

Ever since the sun had begun setting, Iroh had been waiting outside, watching for his nephew.

It was nightfall now.

No one dared say it, but everyone had begun to believe that Zuko would not be returning.

The building in the volcano had sunk at sunset as they kept watch, the Avatar escaping with his team.

Iroh had reassured them that Zuko was likely making his way back. It would take longer for him to return.

Some of them believed Iroh.

Most of them could only wish.

It wasn’t that everyone on boardhad the most positive opinion of Zuko— Even Lieutenant Jee often found himself thinking that he was a spoiled brat.

That never meant they wanted him dead.

He was reckless, blunt— even hostile at times, but he was still a kid.

And chances were, he was gone.

Lieutenant Jee had been standing beside Iroh, keeping watch with him as everyone played a wordless game of Chickengoat on who should voice the concern to Iroh.

He finally decided there was no mare dancing around it.

“Sir, I…” Jee began, faltering for a moment. “I don’t think Prince Zuko is coming back.”

  
Save for Jee and Iroh, the crew all seemed to freeze, heads turning to watch as the two spoke

Iroh’s usually open and kind expression had turned intense and enigmatic, his gaze fixed on the volcano. “We will wait the night,” He said, finally tearing his gaze away. “If he is not back by morning, then we will make a decision on what to do.”

Jee nodded, giving a short, respectful bow, and returned to his quarters, not wanting to think on things any longer.

In the halls, some of the crew began to whisper about Zuko’s suspected fate.

On the deck, some tried to reassure Iroh.

In their quarters, some prayed to Agni that the boy would be safe.

But as the crew slowly began to return to their rooms and finally fall into sleep, the quiet settled in again, and the Wani slowly drifted into silence for the night.

* * *

When Appa finally came to a landing, Zuko could not have been more relieved. He quickly leaped out of the saddle, setting his feet on solid ground.

This also meant he could finally leave the group. Not before capturing the Avatar, but still.

“Finally, we can set up camp and _sleep_ ,” Sokka yawned, holding an armful of supplies.

“Wait.” Zuko said. “The truce is over.” He turned to the Avatar, pointing at them. “I want a fair battle with you.”

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” They said, sitting up. “We’re all tired after escaping, and it won’t be a fair battle unless we can both fight.

“When you could just kill me in my sleep?” Zuko scoffed.

Shock and varying degrees of horror broke out across each of the three’s expressions. It wasn’t like Zuko had said anything _untrue_ though, so he wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal.

“Aang wouldn’t do that,” Katara said, putting a hand on the Avatar— _Aang’s_ shoulder.

“Even if I were to believe you, how can I know the rest of you won’t follow through?”

Sokka and Katara exchanged glances.

“I mean… he’s not wrong, that’s actually kind of a valid concern.” Sokka pointed out.

Katara elbowed him in the side.

“Ow.”

Aang seemed to think for a moment, before his eyes lit up. “We can sleep separately!”

“What?” Zuko frowned.

“If you feel like you won’t be safe around us, then you can set up your own camp. That way we won’t know where you are.”

That… wasn’t actually a bad idea.

Zuko slowly began to nod. “Okay. Separate camps, then,” He agreed.

Then, the airbender shoved some camping supplies into his hands.

“Here! You’ll need these.” He said.

He stared at Aang, then looked up at Sokka and Katara.

They were being too friendly.

He didn’t trust it.

Still, he didn’t want to turn down supplies, so he gave a curt nod instead, turning to leave.

_They’re planning something._

_I know it._

* * *

After Zuko had left, Katara, Sokka, and Aang begun to set up their own camp, finally getting the chance to talk on their own.

“So…” Katara began, looking up from where she was securing the tarp. “What happened? With you and Zuko?”

Sokka paused in what he was doing.

“…he said he was banished.”

“What? But he’s the Fire Lord’s son, isn’t he?”

“Yeah— but he spoke up against some general guy in the Firelord’s war room.” Sokka hesitated, looking up. “There was an Agni Kai-- He said it was a firebending duel or something-- and he had to fight his _dad."_ He swallowed, as if it'd get rid of the lump in his throat, before continuing. "Zuko refused to fight and got banished for it. Katara, he said they _might_ _kill_ _him_! He wasn’t even _upset,_ he just said it like it was a fact!”

Silence settled over the camp, as Katara stood there, speechless.

“Capturing Aang was his only way back.” Sokka looked over to where the airbender had been quietly listening.

To say Aang looked distressed was an understatement. “That’s why you brought him on board…”

“Because otherwise he would have kept trying to go back,” Katara finished, nodding.

There was another few moments of quiet as Sokka finished with his side of the tent.

No one was sure what to say anymore as everyone just sat there

“…I’m going to sleep.” Sokka said, standing up.

“Me too,” Katara nodded, looking over to Aang. “Sleep well, okay, Aang? You’ll need it for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Aang replied, voice small.

No one wanted to say anything more

Instead, they just lay down and let themselves fall into fitful sleep.


	4. Keeping Enemies Close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Begrudgingly, Zuko, Sokka, Katara, and Aang all begin finding a delicate balance of peace as they attempt to push forward.
> 
> Meanwhile, the Dragon of The West knows his nephew would not give up so easily, and is going to find him; whatever it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one took a little longer and is shorter than the others; I got a tad stuck on this chapter, but managed to pull through.
> 
> Still, I want to thank you guys for the OVERWHELMING support I've gotten on this fic! I'm super pleased that y'all are enjoying it and I'm hoping I can keep this going! Maybe not at a rate of every-day updates, though, hehe--

_A battlefield bathed in orange light._

_Zuko was running, running, running (from who?) until he heard someone call his name._

_“Zuko.”_

_He turned._

_Only to see that the person standing there, surrounded by a ring of fire, was..._

_“Father—?”_

_Cold eyes glared down at him, and he couldn’t move as his father reached out a fiery hand—_

Zuko jolted awake, screaming.

Catching his breath again, he looked around.

He was by the riverside. The forest was coated in a golden glow as the sun just began creeping over the horizon.

 _Right._ He sat up.

He was sore.

Rubbing his neck, he began to realize he hadn’t even gotten to take off his armor— as soon as he’d lay down, he had just… passed out.

_Damn._

Standing up, he stretched out his tensed muscles, before going to the campfire and extinguishing the last few embers.

He gathered up the supplies they’d lended him, before making his way back.

* * *

The crew gathered at daybreak— everyone had dark circles lining the bottoms of their eyes, and the only comfort was the signature smell of jasmine tea.

Iroh stood in the middle of the gathered crew, his expression holding the calm before a storm.

“What do we do, sir?”

Iroh looked around at the crew. “If my nephew is alive, then he is not far behind the Avatar’s trail. We will follow the Avatar, and confirm my nephew’s safety.” A small smile came onto his face. “We have found the Avatar before, and we can do it again, I assure you.”

“Then… whenever you’re ready.” The helmsman kneeled— and after a moment, the rest of the crew followed.

The crew was loyal to Prince Zuko, banished or not.

That would not change.

* * *

Everyone was staring at him as he stood at the entrance of the clearing.

“Hi, Zuko,” Sokka piped up, putting on that stupid, _stupid_ grin.

Zuko grumbled crossly, placing the supplies to the ground.

“…So… how’d you sleep?”

“I slept _fine,_ ” Zuko growled, turning to Aang. “I want my battle with The Avatar.”

Avatar Aang flinched. “But I don’t want to fight!”

He scoffed. “Since when have you ever? You’re a monk. A pacifist, a _coward._ ” He wasn’t surprised, having heard the stories of Air Nomads that the Fire Nation told.

“ _No one_ is fighting.” Katara insisted, getting between Zuko and Aang.

“Yeah, you don’t even have any way to bring him back to the Fire Nation.”

“I _would_ if you hadn’t _kidnapped me!_ ” Zuko snapped, fire crackling at his fists.

“Guys…” Aang began.

“How about a ’Thank you Sokka, you saved me from my _impending doom_ of being _CONSUMED BY LAVA’?!”_

“I would have been fine! I don’t need your help, I don’t need your pity, all I need is the Avatar!” He yelled, stomping his foot against the ground as a plume of fire bursted up under his feet. “Then, for once, I can just _go home!_ ”

He looked down, realizing he’d let himself get a little too emotional when he saw that some flames still remained underfoot. He glared at the soil, kicking out the last embers before straightening his posture.

They were staring again.

He tried not to squirm under the three’s gazes, keeping himself collected— or, well, trying.

He realized he must have failed when they all seemed to flinch, turning their gazes away.

“Look,” Aang finally spoke up. “Let’s just all stick together, okay? There’s no point in fighting.”

“But—“ Zuko began to argue, but Katara gave him an icy look that definitely said that _he’d_ be coated in ice if he wasn’t careful.

Scowling, he finally gave a curt nod. “Fine. We’ll go back to a truce. But if you get into trouble, I’m not helping.”

The other three looked at each other.

“Better than nothing,” Sokka shrugged.


	5. Making A Splash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something or other about waterbending practice. Zuko and Sokka both get soaked, and Zuko absolutely, most definitely, does NOT have ANY fun with the enemy whatsoever.

As the rest of them began packing up camp, Zuko— in classic fashion— stubbornly refused to help, instead going over to spoil Appa and pet him.

 _Well, at least Appa’s happy,_ Sokka thought bitterly, hoisting his bags up as he walked over to the others.

“Ready for takeoff?” Aang asked, Momo perched on his shoulders.

“Yeah, I think so.” Sokka tossed his bags onto Appa’s back, climbing on.

Everyone turned to Zuko.

The Prince looked up from the fluffy bison, his shoulders slumping as he made a dramatic groan. Still, he climbed aboard with not much else complaint. He reached out and scooped Momo up into his lap as the lemur hopped towards him.

“Yip, yip!” Sokka called out, snapping the reins, and they were off.

* * *

Zuko didn’t like flying much more than before.

He still felt nauseous— although he hadn’t thrown up yet, that was a plus— and being high, high up with no land in sight didn’t do much to comfort him when he was up here.

With the Avatar. And his friends who probably would not hesitate to kill him.

_Speaking of._

He turned from his position hanging over the saddle, watching as Aang paced back and forth, practically hyperventilating.

It was, in all honesty, starting to get on his nerves.

“Would you sit down?!” Sokka snapped, looking back. “If we hit a bump, you’ll go flying off. What’s bugging you anyway?”

“It’s what Avatar Roku said—“ Aang explained, looking over. “—I’m supposed to master all four element’s before that comet arrives.”

“Sozin’s Comet?” Zuko asked, sitting up. “That arrives next summer. There’s no way you could do it all in time.”

“Zuko!” Katara hissed, and he glanced back over to where Aang looked even more stressed than before.

“Hey, don’t listen to him, Aang!” Sokka piped up. “You’ve pretty much mastered airbending, and that only took 112 years. I’m sure you can master the other three elements by then.”

Sokka’s words didn’t help.

…at all.

In fact, the airbender began pacing again at a quicker speed, hands pressed against his head. “We’re still weeks away from the north pole! I haven’t even _started_ waterbending yet! What am I going to do?!”

Katara shot a glare at the two of them, before grabbing onto Aang’s arm. “Calm down, Aang. It’s gonna be okay. I can teach you some of the stuff I know, if you want?”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course. We’ll need to find a good source of water, first…”

“Maybe we can find a puddle for you two to splash in,” Sokka snarked.

Zuko wasn’t proud to say that earned a snort from him.

* * *

They soon landed by a grandiose waterfall leading into a large lake, surrounded by pines.

“Nice puddle,” Sokka said dryly as he looked up at it.

Katara and Aang didn’t reply, but they both looked delighted by their ‘puddle’.

Zuko, meanwhile, didn’t bother staying to listen to them talk, instead going off by the riverside where a family of turtleducks was gathered.

He fished out one of the small pouches he kept on him— _“It’s best to be prepared for anything that might happen,”_ Uncle had always told him— and fished for some of the bread he kept in there.

Instead, his hand touched fabric, and he frowned, before pulling out…

_Katara’s pendant…_

_…Right._

He had been planning to use it as a bargaining chip before everything had turned sideways.

_Maybe it could still be useful, though. It’s not like I’m going to be stuck with them forever. I can use it after I leave._

That felt wrong, but he figured he’d cross that bridge once he got to it.

He stuffed the pendant back into the pouch before pulling out an _actual_ piece of bread, breaking it into smaller pieces for the turtleducks.

“Hey Zuko,” Sokka said.

Zuko startled, dropping the bread onto his lap and promptly getting mobbed by turtleducks. He fell onto his back as Sokka broke into laughter, glaring up at him. “Sokka—!”

“I’m sorry, i-it’s really hard to be intimidated when you’re being mobbed by turtleducks!”

Zuko could feel his face turn red with embarrassment, quickly sitting up again. He gently scooped the turtleducks off of his lap, standing and brushing breadcrumbs off of his clothes.

“Oh, come on! It’s cute!”

“I’m not cute— and playing with animals isn’t princely.”

“You didn’t seem to care about that when you were petting Momo and Appa.”

“Shut up!”

“What? I’m just saying,” Sokka shrugged.

“I _will_ set your hair on fire.”

“Try setting me on fire when you’re drenched!” Sokka exclaimed, pushing Zuko into the water.

Startled, Zuko sprung up from the water and glaring at Sokka as he grinned proudly.

He wasn’t going to get into a fight with the Avatar’s friend with no backup, although the idea was very, _very_ tempting.

In fact, he had a better idea.

He grabbed Sokka’s leg, dragging him into the water as well, and laughing at him as he surfaced, completely drenched.

He didn’t expect Sokka to run at him and wrestle him into the water.

Zuko panicked for a moment, before he realized that Sokka was just playing around— Not Azula’s way of playing, if that could even be considered as such, but like Lu Ten.

Zuko ducked into the water, slipping out from Sokka’s grip, before springing up and splashing him.

* * *

Aang, distracted, looked over to the two boys as they wrestled in the water.

“Hey, look! They’re getting along!”

“…Are you sure they’re not trying to kill each other?”

“Yeah— look, they wouldn’t be smiling if they were!”

Much to Katara’s surprise, Aang was right. Both of them had mischievous grins on their faces, and Zuko actually looked like he wasn’t going to murder someone for once.

“Huh,” was all she could say.

“…Anyway, what other moves do you have?”

She frowned. “I kind of know this one other move…”

* * *

As a shadow fell over the water, the two of them stopped playing, looking up only to see a wave towering over them.

“AANG—!” Sokka cried out—

Then the wave came crashing down on the two of them. Zuko nearly lost his footing in the water, but quickly caught himself.

Sokka… wasn’t so lucky. He emerged from the water five feet back, looking significantly soured in his mood.

“Looks like I got the hang of that move,” Aang exclaimed cheerily as he looked to Katara. “What else you got?”

“That’s enough practicing for today,” Katara said.

“Yeah, I’ll say!” Sokka exclaimed. “You just practiced our supplies down the river!”

Aang grimaced. “Uhh… sorry. I’m sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff!”

“Life was _hard enough_ when you were _just an airbender_ ,” Sokka grumped, sinking into the water.

“There’s a market up the river,” Zuko said, climbing out of the water and wringing out his phoenix-tail. “We can go there for new supplies, and I might be able to find a messenger bird to send word to my uncle.”

Katara looked at him for a moment, nodding. “Sounds like a plan. Come on Sokka!”

  
Zuko looked to Sokka— who was still moping— before pulling him out and dragging him to Appa. “Let’s go.”


	6. The Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko doesn't have a good time at the marketplace.

The four of them entered the market, and Zuko looked around cautiously at the vendors.

“We’ll be in and out quickly.” Zuko said. “This isn’t exactly the most trustworthy port so I don’t want to linger here too long.”

“Sounds good,” Sokka agreed, nodding.

“We’ll split up too. That way we can cover more ground.”

“I’m going with Zuko then!” Aang declared.

“Aang, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Katara asked. “No offense, Zuko, it's just... you know.”

Zuko huffed in reply, crossing his arms and looking away.

“I’ll be fine. Besides, it’s a good idea to get to know each other while we’re on the same team!” Aang looked up at Zuko, not seeming to get the hint as the prince leaned away with a frustrated grimace.

“Whatever,” Zuko mumbled, stalking off as he gave up on arguing with Aang.

“Zuko, wait up!”

Zuko just walked faster.

* * *

As it turned out, the Avatar was… tolerable to be around.

Zuko had figured Aang would be harassing him over making peace, but mostly he was just… an annoying little kid— which wasn’t too bad, frankly.

“Hey, look! It’s a bison whistle!”

…except for when it was.

“We’re not wasting money on that thing!” Zuko snapped, snatching the whistle away and placing it back into the vendor’s hands. “Come on, we have better things to spend money on.”

Aang looked up at Zuko with puppy-dolphin eyes.

“No.” Zuko repeated, quickly turning away before the airbender could try and sway him.

Zuko perked up, though, as he saw a vendor handling a hawk— likely a messenger.

“Finally,” He muttered, walking over to the stall.

He’d finally be able to contact the crew of the Wani, and go back to being enemies with the Avatar; the way things should be.

* * *

_“YOU’RE CHARGING BY THE WORD?!”_

“By the word,” The man affirmed.

Zuko deflated slightly. “How much?”

“A coin per word.”

“ _What?!_ ” Zuko exclaimed, slamming his hands against the stall. “How do you even get any business with that?!”

“Well, princes don’t need to be frugal, do they?” They smirked, leaning in towards Zuko.

Zuko felt hot rage boil up inside him as he curled his hands into fists, fire beginning to rise from his palms—

He felt Aang tug on his shirt, and turned back to the monk, who was shaking his head.

_I'm causing a scene,_ he realized, looking around and seeing he’d begun turning heads.

He slammed a palm down on the stall, unable to stop curls of smoke from billowing out his mouth. “You are _lucky_ that I don’t have the time to deal with _you_ today.” He snarled, before stalking off, with Aang trailing behind him.

“Have fun babysitting!” The vendor crowed, and Zuko stopped, fuming.

He whirled around, breaking into an angry roar as he charged at them.

“Zuko, no!” Aang cried out, holding him back. Zuko tried to tear away, but Aang held tight with a shocking amount of strength for such a small child.

A fiery breath escaped his throat, but he finally relented, turning away. “Let’s just go meet up with the other two.”

* * *

The four of them met back up by an alley.

“We spent all of our money. What about you guys?” Katara said, looking up.

“We’ve got three coins left.” Zuko said.

“Uh… Make that two,” Aang gave a sheepish smile as he held up a sky-bison shaped whistle.

“I thought I told you not to get that stupid thing!”

“It’s Appa-shaped! How could I say no?” Aang took in a breath, before blowing into the whistle. Everyone flinched, waiting for the shrill shriek of the whistle—

But instead it just hissed with air.

“It doesn’t even work!” Sokka said.

Momo jumped off of Aang and onto Zuko’s shoulders, shrieking at the airbender as Aang looked up with a frown.

“See? Even Momo thinks it’s a piece of junk.”

“No offense, you two, but we’ll be holding the money from now on,” Katara said, holding out her hand as Aang handed her the money.

“Let’s spend our last two coins wisely.” Sokka said. “And not on whistles. Come on, we’ll look around a little more before deciding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of trouble with this one, but I'm glad it's finally done. Better done than perfect, after all.  
> Next up; PIRATES!


	7. Pirate Ships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Gaang has a not-so-friendly run-in with some pirates. Zuko tries to prevent it, but fails, unfortunately for everyone.

The rest of their shopping trip wasn’t going as quickly as Zuko had hoped.

Merchants were calling out at every turn, Aang kept running to the stalls and looking at the merchandise, and Sokka and Katara weren’t stopping him, and they were _wasting time_ looking at _stupid things_.

It wasn’t like yelling at the Avatar was a good idea though if he wanted to live, as much as he wanted to drag Aang along and get going.

“Earth Nation! Water Nation! Fire Nation! As long as bargains are your inclination, you’ll love it here!” A nearby trader called out. “Don’t be shy, come on by!”

_How about you shut up?_ Zuko thought, walking faster.

“Oh! You there!” The trader called out, and Zuko stopped abruptly, suppressing a groan as he saw them running towards the group. “I can see from your clothing that you’re world traveling types! Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?” They crowed.

“Not interested,” Zuko said, glaring at them.

“Sure!” Aang chirped anyway. “…What are curios?”

The man paused, thinking. “…I’m not entirely sure. But we got ‘em!” He said, before wrapping an arm around Aang and leading him into the ship.

Katara followed, but Sokka and Zuko stopped, exchanging a look that was apparently universal between them.

_This is going to be trouble, isn’t it?_

* * *

As the others looked around, Zuko decided to just hang by the door.

He, personally, didn’t see the point of buying pointless trinkets— although those dao swords _were_ a little tempting.

He glanced around, before jumping when he heard a rough voice speak.

“I’ve never seen such a fine specimen of lemur. That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you’d be… interested in bartering,” A man said, walking out with a reptile-bird upon their shoulder.

Momo hissed at them, and Aang swept the poor lemur into his arms. “Momo’s not for sale.”

  
Zuko glared at the man as well but was distracted as he heard Katara gasp, looking back to see she had a scroll in her hands.

“Look at this, Aang! It’s a waterbending scroll! Check out these crazy moves!”

“Where did you get a waterbending scroll?” The airbender asked as the man walked over, pulling the scroll away.

“Let’s just say I got it up north, at a most reasonable price; _free._ ” He said, rolling up the scroll.

“Wait a minute…!” Sokka said, looking up. “Sea-loving traders… with suspiciously acquired merchandise… And pet reptile birds?!” He exclaimed.

“They’re pirates.” Zuko finished the thought, already having figured it out.

“We prefer to think of ourselves as… _high-risk traders._ ” The pirate with the earring said, moving to amiably put an arm around Zuko— who quickly caught their hand, leveling a glare at them.

Katara looked down at what they had left— a measly two coins— before looking back up. “So how much for the, uh… _traded_ scroll?”

“I’ve already got a buyer; A nobleman up in the earth kingdom.” The pirate dismissed, before smirking. “ _Unless_ you kids have… 200 gold pieces on you _right now?”_

“No.” Zuko said curtly. “Come on, you three.”

“Wait,” Aang interrupted. “I know how to deal with these guys! Pirates love to haggle.” The airbender held out a hand to Katara, who placed the coins in his hand. “Watch and learn.”

Then, he turned to the pirate, flipping a coin between his fingers as he put on a stereotypical ‘pirate’ accent. “What say ye’ to the price of… _one_ copper piece?”

Zuko facepalmed.

The pirate, of course, burst out into laughter. “The price is _200 gold pieces._ I don’t haggle on items this rare,” They said, shaking their head.

“Okay then, what about—“

Zuko finally snapped, grabbing Aang by his shirt collar. “We’re _leaving._ None of us have time _or money_ for a stupid scroll.”

“Who made you leader?” Sokka piped up, folding his arms as he looked at Zuko.

Zuko glared at Sokka. “These are pirates. I’ve been at sea for three years; I know how dangerous they are.”

“He’s got a point,” Aang piped up as Zuko placed him back down.

“Yeah,” Katara agreed. “Besides, I don’t like this place either. I feel like we’re getting strange looks.”

Aang frowned at them for a moment, before grabbing his glider, looking up at the pirate. _“Aye,_ we be casting off now!”

* * *

“What was that all about, you two?” Aang asked.

“Yeah! I was just starting to look through their boomerang collection!”

“You heard me the first time, didn’t you? Pirates are dangerous. So we’re _not_ going to waste time running around a _pirate ship_ , especially not when people would probably pay for our heads.”

The three exchanged looks.

“Hey you! Get back here!” A pirate called out, and some pirates swung down.

“I don’t think they’re here to trade with us,” Katara exclaimed.

“Nope.” Zuko wasn’t a ‘people person’ like his sister, but even he could tell that. “Run!”

The four of them set off into a bolt, running down an alleyway. Zuko kicked down a barrel, setting it on fire.

  
The pirates yelled in surprise, but as he looked back, he saw them jump around it.

“This way! Let’s cut them off!” Some pirates yelled out, going the other way.

  
Zuko picked up his pace, running towards the front of the group as Katara waterbended some water out of a bowl, freezing it on the ground.

He stumbled into a cabbage cart, pushing it out of the way, and heard a whoosh of wind and a distant “My cabbages!”as he picked up pace.

He skidded to a halt as he saw pirates jump out in front of him, making a sharp turn in the other direction.

“Come on!” He shouted at the others.

  
The four of them turned the corner, but found themselves faced with a dead end, turning and seeing they were cornered.

“Now,” The pirate with the earring said, brandishing his dual blades, “Who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?”

“No thanks,” Aang said, making a gust of wind with his staff and kicking up dust. He unfolded the glider as he began running forward. “Grab on tight, guys!” He said, looking back as the three began to follow.

“Aang, I thought we were running away from the pirates!?” Katara exclaimed as she and her brother grabbed on.

“Just hang on!”

_They’re going to leave me behind—_

Zuko tried not to panic as he reached out, trying to catch up.

Then, Sokka grabbed onto his hand, tugging Zuko towards the glider just enough for him to grab on.

As they soared just above the pirates, close enough to kick off of their heads, Zuko gripped on tightly, crying out as he looked down at the ground as it grew more and more distant.

He really hoped they weren’t flying too far.

* * *

In fact, they weren’t— just to their previous campsite.

That didn’t mean they had an easy landing, though.

As the glider began to reach ground level, Zuko, Katara, and Sokka all tumbled down onto the ground, while Aang landed gracefully with his airbending.

Zuko spat out grass, groaning as he pulled himself off the ground.He looked over to where Sokka was unlucky enough to find himself face-down in mud.

Sokka got up, not bothering to wipe off his face. “…Let’s stick with Appa next time,” He said, to which Zuko muttered an agreement

“Sorry guys,” Aang said with a sheepish smile.

“Well, at least Sokka can wash off in the river.” Katara said, laughing a little at her brother. “You look like a mud monster!”

Sokka groaned, but made no further protest as everyone began to settle down.

* * *

Zuko sat by the river, looking over as Sokka got out from the water.

“I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible,” Aang said.

“I know,” Katara agreed— but then smirked. “That’s why I took _this,”_ She said, holding out the waterbending scroll.

“No way,” Aang looked distressed.

“Isn’t it great?”

“It’s _not!_ ” Zuko said, standing up and snatching it away. “You do realize they’ll probably try and murder us for this?”

“Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, I’m with Zuko on this one,” Sokka said.

“Where do you two think they got it?” Katara said, frowning. “They stole it from a waterbender!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Sokka exclaimed. “You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid _fancy splashes!_ ”

“These are _real_ waterbending forms! You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!”

“Whatever,” Sokka huffed, walking away.

“…Well, what’s done is done,” The Avatar said. “We have it. We might as well learn from it.”

Zuko sighed, retreating over to where Sokka had sat down.

He had a feeling this was going to be a long evening.


End file.
